Transformers: Rise of the Highlanders
by Tigerboy101
Summary: It has only been a few human months sense the battle for the All Spark, and the Autobots continue to protect Earth against the Decipticon's menacing threat. However when a new, FEMALE Autobot arrives as reinforcements, they don't know that she is more important than they realize, to defeat a new threat: The Highlanders. But her story goes deeper than they already know... (On hold)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N **This is my first transformer story, which is based after the first movie. I have brought a few characters back from the movie that died because I was very discouraged that they passed away so early, so don't say I didn't tell you before! And I may not match characters personalities to an A plus because it has been a while sense I have seen the movies, but I will try my best!****

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><p><strong>Transformers: Rise of the Highlanders<strong>

**Prologue**

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><p>War, war never changes…. At least, that is what the humans say.<p>

It is different for our kind however, for Cybertron is in disarray, and we have been sent to evict the Decipticon threat from the planet Earth. Earth was not as lifeless as we had once anticipated, and we did discover, that the one boy that held the key to defeating the Decipticons was in fact alive. Sam showed us the way to salvation, where we fought off Megatron and his army of degenerates. But at a terrible cost: The All Spark, was destroyed. But nevertheless, we continued to fight on, to make sure the decipticons didn't come back. And if they did escape, they would not leave the battleground without us seeing leaking energon coming from their sides. We, the Autobots, would make sure of that.

However, after many human months, we could've never imagined, just what threat, would be worse than the Decipticons… and the suprising new soldier, that held the key to defeating them…

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><p><strong>Planet Earth… The Autobot base….. Approximate Time: 02:00:00<strong>

"Ironhide, stop with that racket!" Ratchet ordered loudly, after hearing him use a rocket launcher on a target for the 100th time.

He facpalmed himself with dismay, closing his blue, cybernetic eyes. Ironhide reloaded his shoulder mounted rocket launcher, muttering about how geeky Ratchet acted at times.

Every time the giant robot had fired a missile at a target, it shook their base to the core, which constantly irritated Ratchet and a few other Autobots. The fact that the Decipticons were still on Earth had made Ratchet jumpy whenever he had heard an explosion, and despite Ironhide knowing this, he still continued to shoot it, watching Ratchet's expression for his own amusement.

He shot it off once more, making a startled Ratchet fall onto an energon crate, before Ironhide took off. With a loud grunt he sat up from the crate, using a human sized balcony to support himself.

"I swear, if he shoots that rocket once more time, I'm going to write him up again to Optimus…." He said deeply, now attempting to organize the cargo supplies again with his big, bulky hands.

Bumblebee and Jazz walked by, where Bee had just lowered his battle mask. The two looked like they had just returned from training from what Ratchet could see of them.

"So, how did it go?" Ratchet asked, crossing his arms.

"It went cool, but I honestly think Bee dominated me on that one," Jazz said, giving Bumblebee a glance.

Bee simply gave them a nod and a smile, sticking his thumb up to them both.

"Yeah, don't get your hopes up yellow boy," Jazz muttered, making Bee frown and hit him in the shoulder sharply on their way out of the doorway.

It wasn't easy for Bee to communicate with his fellow brothers, sense his voice box wasn't working right, and had suffered permanent malfunctions to it. It frustrated the yellow striped robot at times, especially when he tried to communicate with Sam or another human. He would usually end up using different radio frequencies or channels from around Earth, from different humans, so that way he could find the right words to talk, but it still frustrated him at times.

Ratchet was just about to place another storage crate down, when a furious rumbling shook the base, making him drop the crate onto the ground.

With a growl, he turned to face Ironhide. "That's it, I'm going to-"

"It wasn't me that time, Ratchet!" Ironhide interrupted, panic in his voice.

And sure enough, another louder rumbling shook the base to its core, sending crates and supplies flying across the hanger. Suddenly, the intercom started to crakle above them.

"Attention all Autobots, roll out! An explosion was detected on Earth's surface two human minutes ago. Get to the surface ASCP, and make sure you are armed!" Optimus' voice fainted off the intercom a moment later.

With that, Ratchet leaped onto the hanger floor below him, landing on both of his legs with a loud bang, as his fist crunched into the metal. He wasted no time, as he tore his Multi barreled machine gun from its perch, and starting running down the long hallway behind him, which blared red lights. It wasn't long before he heard loud foots steps behind him, and Bumblebee and Ironhide started running alongside him. They all had their battle masks on this time, and had their weapons unsheathed, no surprise. They all exchanged nods, as they ran ahead and separated into their launching tubes. Ready for the worst, Ratchet checked his machine gun to make sure it was loaded in one hand, while he clutched a medical scanner in another.

The tubes all immediately accelerated upward, where they eventually reached the surface in no less than a minute. The glass doors slide open, where the many heavily armed Autobots sped from the tubes.

Ratchet now understood where the explosion sight was when he noticed the smoking crater at the bottom of the hill. A large figure sped ahead of Ratchet, who was now leading the charge down, Optimus Prime. Optimus nodded to Bumblebee and Mirage, who took the left flank around the crater sight, for sneak support incase needed. He then nodded and gestured to the right side of the crater as they ran, where Ironhide and a handful of Autobots helped fortify all sides of it. Optimus, Ratchet, and the other remaining bots simply helped cover the front. Optimus and the frontal assault cautiously approached the front, their ranged weapons readied for battle.

Prime raised in eyebrow in surprise to see that there were no threats, as far as he could see, except scattered brown dirt from the explosion. He then checked around the crater sight, to find nothing except more brown dirt.

Prime made a silent gesture with his hand, causing the other Autobots to slowly approach the crater, weapons fixed on the place where the black smoke was coming from. A deep black hole that seemed to have had something slammed into the center, was right in the center of the crater, where black smoke came up from it. Narrowing his eyes with curiosity, Optimus turned on his com link.

"Bumblebee, we need someone to investigate the crater, but proceed with caution. It could be a Decipticon behind this."

A moment later, an armored Bumblebee emerged from behind the crater, slowly approaching the mysterious black hole. His plasma cannon was propped on one arm, which he was using to help aim it accurately.

When he was within inches of the black hole, he stopped in his tracks at the sound of mechanical rustling inside it. He set his cannon to kill mode, where it started to beep frantically. He dared to take another step, where he heard more mechanical struggling.

"Decipticon," Bumblebee thought, "It has to be."

A moment later, a small mechanical hand reached the top of the surface. Than another, where Bee's finger was on the verge of pulling the trigger.

"Bumblebee, don't," Optimus said firmly into the com, "We don't know which this stranger is yet."

The next second later, an orange head with blue cybernetic eyes popped above the surface. After another second, a small, orange robot emerged from the hole, struggling to get to the surface.

Bumblebee was surprised, but relieved at the same time to see that it was an Autobot symbol on his arm.

"Name and rank soldier!" Bumblebee immediately said, using the military frequency channel to talk.

The orange Autobot looked Bee in the eye, and said, "My name is Zero. And I am a reinforcement for the Autobots."

That's when Bumblebee realized his first mistake about this visitor, as he lowered his cannon in shock. This new Autobot wasn't a "he."

It was a FEMALE, voice that had replied.

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><p><strong>AN Hope you enjoyed this first chapter! I am afraid it will be a long while before i post the next chapter due to the need to finish at least one of my main stories. So be sure to add this story on your alert list if you think you can wait long enough! Consider this chapter a trailer for the chapters to come. **


	2. The New Recruit

**Alright, I know I said that it would be a while before i post another chapter. But I decided that i wouldn't keep you guys waiting, plus, until I can get the chapter I need for my other main story emailed, i will be working on Rise of the Highlanders until then. So don't lose hope. Anyway, hope you all enjoy! ;D Again, this is my first Transformer's story, so I apologize if I don't write it the best.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers! (Obviously)**

**And viewers and people who have faved this story, don't hesitate to share your thoughts and, REVIEW! I would love to hear what you have to say.  
><span>**

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><p>"Wait- New reinforcement?" Optimus asked in confusion, now at the bottom of the smoking crater.<p>

"We never requested or were told about any new arrivals according to my files," Ratchet added.

"Yeah, you didn't know?" The new Autobot named, "Zero" replied sharply, as if they should've known already.

"Says my files," Ratchet said bluntly.

"Are you sure that you have reached the correct Autobot outpost?" Ironhide added with amusement.

"That's enough Ironhide," Optimus said firmly, "Let me be the one to ask the questions here."

Ironhide simply bowed his head forward, before walking away. "Yes Prime, as you wish."

Optimus exchanged knowing glances with Bumblebee, before he turned back to their new recruit.

"First of all, how did you come to be ordered to this post? Did the Headquarters at Cybertron send you here?" Optimus asked, his cybernetic eyes fixed on her attentively.

He couldn't help finding it just as strange as Bumblebee found that she was a female robot, not a male as usual. After all, according to Ratchet, 97% Autobots and Decipticons were always male, not female. They were normally only created on purpose, but sometimes, there were rare times when they would be created and accepted as Autobots.

"Yes," Zero confirmed, "I was sent here by command due to the casualties during previous clashes against the Decipticons, and because I have now finished the training that I require for the field," Zero recited as if she were a commander.

At that, Prime and Ratchet exchanged a few words briefly and quietly, before they had directed their attention back to Zero. "I'll be the judge of that," Optimus said boldly.

"So you'll take me then?" Zero asked swiftly, almost eagerly, as she gave the air a few test punches. Mechanical whirring sounded as she did this.

Prime nodded, before turning to face his fellow brothers. "Autobots, lower your weapons! She is one of ours!" He ordered.

Facing the new recruit, he added, "Welcome to the Autobots, Zero."

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><p>"We shall give you the short detailed tour of the base that you will be living in, and when I do, I expect you to treat it with just as much respect as you would treat your fellow brothers with," Optimus told Zero as they walked. "We still have much to do before it will be 100% operational , but until then, this is what we have to work with."<p>

Bumblebee, Optimus, and Zero walked onward into the hanger, where Ratchet and a few other Autobots were trying to stack the groups of storage crates again. A few pieces of heavy machinery and weapons were lying in a pile beside a pile of greenish storage crates, where Ironhide was helping organize them.

"Normally, I would proceed to visualize the rest of the base for you, but I am afraid that I have other matters to attend to. My second command, Bumblebee will continue the tour."

Bumblebee immediately shook himself into focus after hearing his name being called.

"Alright then, Bumblebee, I believe you can take it from here."

After seeing a nod from Bee, Optimus walked away, leaving Zero and Bee.

But Bumblebee found himself feeling incredibly awkward around her, considering there was no way for him to talk without using a radio channel, which would be even more awkward. He simply decided to gesture with his hand for Zero to follow him, where they started a brief walk down the metal hall.

They were no longer in the hanger, and the hallway was starting to stretch into a thinner version, that was lined with large, glass windows. Through the glass windows, Zero could catch see a large room in each individual window, about the size of a human's house. A smooth, grey metal seemed to make up the walls and ceiling of each room, and there were ridged metal rimming along the walls. The floors looked shiny and white, which Zero guessed may have resulted from the lights on the ceiling. But Bumblebee said nothing, as much as it hurt him not to be able to. However, Zero noticed his lack of speech, and decided to say something.

"You're not much of a talker are you?" She asked.

"Yeah, his voice box broke during a battle, and now it can't be fixed."

It took Bumblebee a minute to notice that Jazz had just caught up to them. He glared at Jazz with anger and dismay, clearing wanting to have found the right time to tell her. After all, he didn't want Zero to think that their leader's second in command was weaker or lesser of importance because of lacking the ability to speak. He wanted to make a good first impression on the new recruit, just like he had done with others in the mere past.

Jazz simply shrugged his shoulders at seeing his offended expression.

"What? You were gonna have to say something to the newbie about it anyway."

Bumblebee channeled his radio channels to on so that way he could talk. "But it could have waited!" He protested, while crossing his arms.

This was one of those moments where he really wished he could talk in his own words….

"Battle injury then?" Zero asked. She sounded impressed.

Bumblebee simply nodded in response. Maybe he had made a good impression on her after all.

"Hmmm, too bad then. I would've liked having a team member I can actually communicate with."

Bumblebee's hopes were immediately shattered after hearing Zero bluntly say that, and he couldn't help feeling a little offended.

"So what are these places anyway? The new training rooms?" Zero asked afterwards.

Bumblebee was just about to explain, but once more, Jazz had to be the show off as usual. "Not new, but yeah, those are the training rooms. Feel free to use them whenever you would like, as long as you are one of us, Prime could care less."

Zero simply nodded, still studying the blank rooms as if she found them to be the most interesting thing in the whole base.

"And if you thought those were interesting, just wait until you see the battle simulation dome," Jazz added, now picking up his pace.

Bee and Zero did so as well, where they took a slanted turn inm the hallway, leading to two automatic doors. The large Autobot logo on the door glowed blue as they stepped forward, causing the doors to automatically slide out of their way.

What Zero saw was amazing. If she had thought that the training rooms were large, then the question Bumblebee would've had for her, "What did she consider, THIS?"

Sure enough, the room's ceiling was a large doom, rising hundreds of feet into the air, and stretching at least thousands of feet more in width. The metal walls seemed to stretch on forever, almost as far the ceiling did. Overall, it looked like the other training rooms, except a hundred times larger than normal.

Suddenly, Ratchet walked up beside the group, startling Bumblebee slightly. He was even more surprised to see that Optimus, Sideswipe, and Ironhide had also arrived.

"The B.D.S.C, amazing isn't it?" Ratchet stated.

"Ratchet, could you speak English please for the new recruit?" Jazz asked with amusement.

Ratchet rolled his eyes. "Battle Dome Simulation Chamber."

"And one of our greatest, crowning achievements," Optimus added, stepping into the chamber. "It is where we mainly train, here on Earth, where Ratchet and his tech specialists simulate battles for us, on any type of terrain or Earthly setting you can think of," Prime explained.

"We could even make it snow if we wanted to," Ratchet added proudly, making Jazz punch him lightly in the shoulder, who was clearly annoyed.

"We mainly simulate realistic battles against the Decipticons, in different scenarios or situations, if they were to ever occur in any case. If you were to become hurt or to be killed in the chamber, you would be revived at the end, no matter what happens to you. Explosions, gunfire, energy weaponry, Energon drainers, disintegration, be it death by any of the above, and you would still come back alive at the end. But despite this, you are expected to treat these as if they were realistic situations, because in the end, we all know that at least one of these situations will happen in reality," Optimus finished, now turning back to Zero. "Any questions?"

"Uh, yeah, how exactly do we come back alive even after death in the chamber?" Zero asked uncertainly.

"I am glad that you asked that question," Optimus replied, "And to answer it, we use a certain highly charged type of Energon, which when injected, allows us to reappear in our life support system tubes that we start in, even after death. It only works inside this dome along, and it is highly recommended that you apply it before entering a simulated battle…. Otherwise you won't be coming back."

"So, could I try it out now?" Zero asked, sounding eager again.

Optimus gave a nod of approval, but Ratchet looked unsure. "Prime, are you sure that allowing our newest Autobot to train so early in the tour is a logical decision?"

"I see no harm in it," Optimus replied, glancing back at Zero, "It would be good to see what your superiors have taught you sense then. But I would like you to start with something basic, unarmed combat would be a good start."

He shifted his gaze around the Autobots in the room, until his eyes rested on…... Bumblebee.

"Bumblebee, why don't you and Ironhide demonstrate a basic offensive technique for our new recruit?" Optimus offered.

After setting down his weapons, Bumblebee lowered his battle mask, as he and Ironhide took positions on the battleground. He had seen these battle patterns before, as they were the traditional Autobot way to start a training battle. The person on the right would take the defensive, while the left once would be on the offensive. In this case, Bumblebee was the attacker. But he didn't mind, after all, he did like to be the one to hit first. Besides, who wants to wait around to get their head bashed in?

Bumblebee demonstrated a simple example of an offensive move, as he rushed right at Ironhide, who pretended to try and deflect his seemingly reckless attack, but Bee moved to the right at the last second, faking an attack, which allowed him to maneuver over Ironhide's head with ease. He finished his move by grabbing the giant's left exposed arm as he lept over his head, and twisting his arm to the side, which immediately forced Ironhide onto one knee, leaving him exposed to any attack Bee had in mind.

Optimus nodded with approval once again, clearly impressed. But from what Bee could see, Zero, was not.

"Very good Bumblebee. Maybe our new recruit would like to give it a go?" Optimus offered, clearly referring to Zero.

Zero scoffed confidently in reply. "I can do that move easy."

She stepped up to face Bumblebee, just as Ironhide had left the course. A few other Autobots move back to give them some space, as Bumblebee readied himself. His gaze meant with Zero's, where he actually realized how she looked up close.

With her black fists curved like that, Bumblebee could now see the blades attached to her wrist. They looked like Mirage's, and even looked like they were folded up, to decrease their actual length when sheathed. As Bumblebee noticed this, he couldn't help scanning the rest of her structure, and admiring her orange and black striped pattern along her back and around her arms. It looked very similar to his Yellow and black pattern, and he liked how nicely the color fit her.

However, before he could even finish the thought, Zero had charged him. Bumblebee scrambled to focus himself again, and even seriously tried to block and push back her attack, but she managed to knock his arm to the side, unbalancing him. He had expected her to use the same fake move that he had used on Ironhide, but as it turned out, Zero had a few tricks of her own, other than Bee not paying attention. Right after he was off balance, she leapt over one of his shoulders, taking his arm with her as he attempted to turn around, putting himself in an arm lock. His eyes and body immediately cringed at the pain, as Bumblebee struggled to find a way out of it, but ending up failing in the end, as he crumpled onto not one, but both knees.

Now he was in even a more humiliating position then Ironhide had been in. He hadn't even had enough time to process the attack, because he had invested his thoughts so much into admiring the young Autobot.

"What are you looking at, Yellow stripes?" Zero hissed into his ears challengingly, clearing referring to the way he was looking at her before.

At that moment, his admiration changed to anger for the Autobot. He had NEVER, been humiliated or embarrassed by a new Autobot like this before, let alone a female. The other Autobots, including Optimus, were just as surprised at Bee's sudden defeat as he was.

Bumblebee immediately channeled his radio frequencies to on, just as Zero released him from the arm lock. "I wasn't ready that time," he protested, while glaring at Zero.

"Very good performance Zero," Optimus praised, "But I it looks like your opponent wants a rematch, do you accept?"

Zero simply smirked and nodded. "If he thinks he can do any better than last time, sure."

They took position again, where Zero readied herself to attack him again. This time, Bumblebee paid close attention to her movements, and when she would try to attack. In just in a flash, Zero had charged him to start off the attack.

When she had tried to frontally assault him, she hesitated at the last second, which Bee anticipated, allowing him to dodge her real attack on the right with ease. Despite her failing to perform the move correctly, Zero STILL, thought she could take Bee's arm and get away with it. But as she grabbed his arm and tried to leap over him, Bee then grabbed her with his free hand, slamming her onto the ground in front of him, forcing her to let go of his arm, where Bumblebee was able to pin her down easily. Just as fast as the battle had started, it had now ended.

Ironhide and Jazz clapped with approval, while looking down at the new Autobot with amused expressions on their faces. Optimus and Ratchet simply stood there, as if they were still studying the battle.

Bumblebee released Zero, where he had a brief feeling of triumph, due to his victory. This time, it was Zero, who was feeling angry and embarrassed, not Bee.

Optimus approached the two after the battle had ended, where the others watched the scene patiently from behind. "That was a good try Zero, but-"

"Whatever," Zero snapped, interrupting Prime, "Just show me to my quarters already."

When Bumblebee had taken a step forward, she viciously added, "And not with, HIM."

As Optimus and the others walked away, Bumblebee couldn't help feeling satisfied, though he also felt a little bad about what he had done. For one, he probably really screwed up her rep, and made her think that they were competing. But at the same time, he did show her who was second in command around her.

After all, she had to know who was the law around these parts.

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><p><strong>Don't really have much else to say... other than <span>PLEASE, share your thoughts and review!<span>**

**Next chapter: After the previous events, Zero and a group of Autobots prepare for Zero's first simulated battle. Optimus and ratchet recieve startling results from the battle... Both good and bad. Meanwhile, strange activity brews on Earth's surface...**


	3. The Simulation Battle

**A/N Here's chapter 3 as promised. I kinda rushed the end of the battle, so sorry if it seemed too choppy. I really wanted to get this posted tonight for you guys. :/**

**But I would love if you guys would support me by posting your thoughts in your reviews!**

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><p>Bumblebee's blue optics opened with a start, only to hear the gentle hum of the generators around the base. All looked normal in the base as far as he could see, too normal and quiet almost. But he knew that was probably just him getting board. There were no explosions on the surface that day, no real Decipticon problems to deal with, and next to absolutely, NOTHING, to do.<p>

Sure, he could go see how Sam's doing, watch him go about his day with his- what was it called again? Bee had been trying to get used to human speech terms, even though he had been there for quite a few months. Then it hit him, "girlfriend," that was the word he had used to describe that human female he was always with. Anyhow, Sam was fine without him, even though Bumblebee surprisingly enjoyed keeping him safe. But the connection that he had with Sam would let him know if his human was in trouble. Plus, he had already done the same thing so many times before, it did start to get a little boring at times.

Bumblebee's thoughts changed, as his scanners remembered the rookie that had joined them the day before. Well, Bumblebee actually found out that she technically wasn't a NEW, new recruit, but was simply just new to their squad. He couldn't seem to get Zero out of his head for some reason, and he wondered why. The seemingly young, but very arrogant Autobot had embarrassed him yesterday, which had earned her an easy beat-down from Bumblebee as a result. Of course, the beat down was only a result of his rematch against her. And due to her arrogance, he did have to show her who was second in command. But at the same time, he admired the confidence that she had, and the eagerness and fire she had for battle. But just like Optimus had taught Bee before, arrogance can be both a gift, and a curse at the same time.

Zero was supposed to be starting her first Simulated battle alongside the team today, which Bumblebee was actually curious to see how it would end for her. The main course today: Capture the objective in a Decipticon littered area, and arrive at the rendezvous point with your team members all intact.

He had done the same course many times before, and it hadn't gotten any harder than it already was. As far as he knew, it took place in the same city terrain as last time, nothing really that different. Ratchet could've made it as hard as he wanted to, but Optimus insisted that he leave it at a level that at least new recruits could complete.

Bumblebee finally found himself the willpower to sit up from his giant, metal bed. He wobbled briefly, before he could balance himself again and adjust his optics properly. Once he had reached the door, Bee grabbed his mounted SMG and Plasma cannon, before continuing through the automatic door. Outside his quarters were lines of identical metal doors with the same blue Autobot logos, leading to the Hanger on one end, and the recharge/medical bay at other end of the hallway.

A moment later, Sideswipe emerged from the room beside Bumblebee, his blades swaying freely as usual.

"Hey Bumblebee, forgot to ask you the other day," Sideswipe started right away, "What happened during that fight with the rookie?"

Bumblebee pretended not to know what he was talking about. "What do you mean what happened?" He asked, once again using the channels to talk.

Sideswipe hit him playfully on the shoulder.

"Come on Bee! You know what I mean. She took you down on the first try on that move when you were looking at her like that, so don't try to tell me that load of Decipticon trash!" He insisted.

While Bumblebee had been scanning the radio channels for what he wanted to say, Sideswipe immediately took his brief silence it as a different sign.

"Don't tell me you're going soft and gushy for Zero! That's something only humans do."

Bumblebee immediately found his words after hearing this. "I do not!" he protested right away.

Why would Sideswipe, of all people, be the one to accuse him of liking the new recruit? That is such an absurd thing to say! He was a Cybertronian! Not a softy human!

"Do to!" Sideswipe teased him back.

Bumblebee optics/eyes narrowed into a glare, as he threatened to punch him with his fist, making Sideswipe slide away down the hall toward the hanger. Bee lowered his yellow fist, now letting his optics rest freely again, as he continued toward the hanger once more.

After walking through the doorway that led to the Hanger, he wasn't surprised to see that the crates were now all organized. The storage crates were now split evenly into diverse rows, ready to be distributed to the different areas around the base if need. One row of crates in the middle had a glowing, blue substance in then, which Bumblebee could easily tell was Energon. The rest held different supplies and weaponry, which made up the others rows of crates around the Energon. The hanger doors were now closed, which were supposed lead to secret tunnels under the Earth's surface.

Bumblebee leaped to the balcony above him, which now lead to the Training rooms and the Simulation Dome. After the short walk through the glass hallway, he wasn't surprised to find Ironhide, Jazz, Sideswipe, Optimus, and Zero all gearing up at the entrance to the Battle Dome. Ironhide already had his favorite, Heavy Machine gun ready to go for battle, and his Grenade launcher readied in another hand. Jazz and Sideswipe had their battle masks lowered and readied to go, and had their weapons attached firmly too. Bumblebee had expected Optimus to be up top with Ratchet, supervising their progress, but instead, he looked armed to the teeth, just like everyone else.

"Aren't you going to watch?" Bumblebee asked his leader.

"I won't be supervising today Bumblebee, we now have a new Autobot among us, and we need to show her how we work together as a team," Optimus explained.

Bumblebee went to work adjusting his Plasma cannon on his arm, and attached his SMG to the other. He had just lowered his Battle mask, right as the Intercom crackled on.

Right away, Bee could tell it was Ratchet's voice.

"Attention Autobots, toady we will be starting a simulated, "Capture the objective battle ground." Now, this is no game, and it should not be treated as one, so we expect everyone to try their best, ESPECIALLY our new Autobot, and follow superior's orders. Make sure that you have injected your Energon charge before we start the simulation, for safety measures of course, and good luck to you all! Prime, shall we now start the Simulation?"

Meanwhile, Bumblebee and Zero had just jabbed themselves with the charge that they required.

"Yes Ratchet, I believe we are all ready," Optimus confirmed after a moment of silence.

The six Autobots then stepped into the Dome, where the Automatic doors closed behind them.

And at that moment, the whole dome around them started to change.

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><p>Zero's first instinct was to ready her weapon. And to be exact, she was right to do so.<p>

The minute the Room had changed, Zero and the other Autobots found themselves right in the middle of a human urban environment, in a firefight. Bullets and explosions sounded in every direction, directed at them of course, and Zero barely had enough time to react. Jazz and Sideswipe took cover behind a damaged skyscraper on the right, while Ironhide starting mowing down a group of approaching Decipticons with his machine gun. Optimus and Bumblebee moved up as he covered them, so Zero decided to join them in the advance.

"Autobots, hold the line!" Optimus ordered.

Jazz and Sideswipe picked off targets on the buildings, while Ironhide and Optimus continued unloading on approaching enemies on the street. Zero peeked out from the white column, only to be shot at by a Decipticon on the roof above her. She swiftly rolled to the side and shot him in the dead center with her sniper, making him fall into the wrecked street below her. She scooped in on another Decipticon tank and sniped him in the head in one shot, before dispatching another with a quick double tap.

"Where's the objective at?!" Zero yelled out to Prime over the gunfire.

"It's on the pedestal, past those laser defenses up ahead on the street!" Optimus replied loudly, impaling a Leaper with his Energon blade, before tossing him into a nearby electronic store.

It was hard for Zero to see past the masses of Decipticons without getting shot at, but her scanners had managed to catch a brief glimpse of the red laser defenses up ahead, about 100 meters north.

"If I could just make it past those lasers….." Zero thought.

The only thing that was in her way: Nearly hundreds of Decipticons.

"I'm moving up Ironhide, cover me!" Jazz suddenly yelled from beside the group. He and Sideswipe made a run for it, while Ironhide provided heavy fire support.

"Come get some you Decipticon scum!" He shouted.

Ironhide swapped over to his grenade launcher as an enemy jet flew right into his sights, where Ironhide blew the jet to pieces. Another Leaper ambushed Bumblebee, who narrowly dodged a strike from its spear, before shooting it in the chest with his Plasma cannon, propelling it into a parking lot. A group of shotgunners had just emerged from the alley in front of Bee, who was trying to reload, surprising him at the sudden ambush.

"Bumblebee, get down!" Ironhide yelled.

The yellow striped robot leaped onto the ground stomach first, just as Ironhide had shot forward a grenade from his launcher. The first Decipticon it had touched on impact immediately went up in a flash of smoke, while the other shotgunners were blown up or disintegrated by the brutal explosion. Glowing energon leaked from a survivor, who was blown in half, as he attempted to crawl for his trusty primary weapon, only to be finished off by Optimus' blade.

"MOVE UP!" He ordered over his shoulder.

The other Autobots did so, where the remaining group of Decipticons started to fall back.

"Go back to your hole on Cybertron, yah dumb Decipticon trash!" Sideswipe shouted boldly, as he dashed ahead of the group, slicing through a fleeing Decipticon's chest. He choked on Energon, and his circuits sparked, before his eyes went dark, making Sideswipe take his blade back out.

The 6 Autobots all regrouped in the streets, where they continued onward toward the Laser defenses.

"Yes!" Zero thought. "Now is our chance to win this thing!"

However, her hopes were crushed, as a rumbling sounded at the other end of the street. The Team of Autobots immediately stopped in their tracks at the sound of it. Bumblebee and Jazz' optics widened with alarm, like they knew what was going to happen next. The whole group suddenly became guarded, as they readied their weapons on the laser defenses up ahead.

"Hold your ground Autobots, it's the heavy!" Optimus shouted.

Heavy…. The word for some reason appealed and made sense to Zero. She felt that she had heard about that enemy before, during her training at Cybertron. And it wasn't anything like the ones they had fought on the street.

Loud footsteps and mechanical whirring sounded from behind the barricades, where the Laser defenses suddenly turned off. A large wheel slammed into a perfectly good yellow Lamborghini, flattening it into the equivalent size of a piece of paper, as the wheel lifted off of its handiwork.

Zero's eyes rested upon a tank Cybertonian. However, this was no ordinary tank. It looked at least double the size of a regular tank, and twice the width. A Mini Gun spun to a stop on one hand, while his second hand clutched an enormous Energon blade, the size of an average car. It even had a rocket pack attached to its back, which looked like it could have been used for hovering. The Heavy's glowing red eyes glared down at its puny sized opponents down the wrecked street, as it stepped onto a nearby firetruck, crushing it thin.

Normally, Zero knew she should have been petrified of an opponent like this at this point. But, she had also been paying attention to the open laser gate. It no longer had lasers guarding it as it once had before, and the giant robot was still in the way of its path. If she could just make it past him without getting a mouth full of bullets, that is.

Zero decided that it was worth the risk, if it meant winning this thing for the team. After all, she could also show Yellow Stripes how good she really was. As if he could do any better anyway, he couldn't even communicate without using a radio channel!

Optimus held his fist in the air firmly. "Hold your ground, Auto-"

He was interrupted, to find an orange and black striped sports car speeding down the wrecked street, Zero.

"Zero, come back here!" Ironhide yelled. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"Come back here now, that's an order!" Optimus added aloud.

When she had kept going, Prime faceplamed himself with frustration.

"Zero you- ARGH! Autobots, cover her advance, NOW!" He ended up saying.

Zero sped at full speed down the street until she had started to approach the crushed fire truck, which now slanted upward like a ramp. The Heavy had started to fire at her relentlessly with his Mini Gun, which spun madly, just like his red eyes did. He took another large step forward, where he was now out of the way of the gate. The lasers were just started to come back together, and Zero hadn't even reached the truck yet.

"No!" She thought with anger. "I have to win this!"

She stepped up to the highest speed she could go, causing herself to roar forward up the ramp. It seemed as if the world had stopped at that exact once second, as the lasers started to nearly touch. Zero had just managed to squeeze through, just enough so that the majority of her had made it through. The edge of her back wheels sizzled off, just as she had managed to transform and make it through.

Against all odds, Zero sprinted as fast as she could at the pedestal containing the glowing artifact. She snatched it with one of her free hands, right as the containment lasers came back over the pedestal.

But as Zero turned back around to run, the Heavy rocketed to a landing.

Right in front of her.

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><p><strong>Alright, hope you enjoyed another fantastic chapter, created by your truly! ;D <span>PLEASE BE SURE TO LEAVE A REVIEW! <span>Your support is much appreciated.**

**Chapter 4: Zero faces the dire consequences of her reckless actions in the Simulation. Meanwhile, events take place on the surface. (That's all you need to know, othewise, it's a spoiler. XD)**


	4. Consideration

**A/N Hope you enjoy the chapter! Don't really have much else to say other than please be sure to share your thoughts and review! I think you already have an idea by now of who the OC pairing is with Bee. ;D But not yet... not for a while.  
><strong>

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><p>But, right when Zero had thought she was finished, the setting around her started to change again. The Heavy's Mini Gun suddenly spun to a stop, and his eyes went dark, signaling that he was just shutting down. The buildings and every aspect of the city started to disappear and crumble around her, as if an earthquake was starting. Everything felt normal, and Zero at once knew the simulation was ending, but why? She had not even completed the objective, and she was just about to! So why would Ratchet have ended the simulation now?<p>

A minute later, Zero found herself back in the middle of the training room, staring blankly at a wall, as if she had never done the simulation at all. Her weapons were all fully loaded again, and were now back in her sheathes as usual, and Zero didn't even have any rubble/debris left on her from the wrecked city. After she was able to adjust her optics again, she noticed her other team members around her, all looking at her as if she had done something wrong.

Zero stared back at them innocently and shrugged in confusion. "What?"

Ratchet and Optimus shoved their way through the group of Autobots, to meet up with Zero. And they did not look very pleased.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?! What's wrong, is that you have willingly violated the number one rule that all of us Autobots are supposed to follow! Follow. Superior's. Orders!" Optimus said angrily, his voice starting to rise.

"And because of your insubordinate actions, we have decided that you have failed, the simulation." Ratchet added quietly, also sounding mildly displeased.

Zero's optics widened with shock and fury, where they suddenly turned green.

"WHAT?! You can't do this to me! I was the one who managed to obtain the artifact, and I was just about to finish this thing! And you are telling me that I FAILED?" Zero shouted.

"Keep down your voice, recruit!" Optimus snapped. "The first thing you should have been taught on Cybertron as a sparkling, was to follow your commanding officer's orders, and you have done the exact opposite of that! Insubordination of a direct order from your commanding officer, is one of the worst charges you could face, if you were back on Cybertron, serving their military! That is what you are facing right now," Optimus explained furiously. "I'm sorry Zero, but it seems you simply haven't been taught enough discipline at HQ. Until you learn to follow orders like a real Autobot, you are confined to your personal quarters until further notice, is that clear?"

"But-"

Optimus silenced her with a glare. "Is that clear?"

Zero opened her mouth to speak again, but simply closed her lower mechanical jaw, which formed a glare.

"Yes, sir," she muttered with sarcasm, before storming off toward the Quarters area.

Ironhide and Jazz chuckled at the sight, as she walked away.

"Wow, insubordination referrals on the second day," Ironhide stated, "Not even you could have reached a record like that," he added with a glance to Jazz, earning a hit on the shoulder in return.

They both rumbled with deep laughter as they fist pumped each other.

"Yeah, that rookie really needs to cool off," Jazz agreed, as they walked off toward the hanger.

The only person who was still left in the dome with Optimus, was Bumblebee. He had watched Zero leave the room, yet he, didn't feel satisfied.

"Shouldn't I be happy that she is already in trouble?" Bee wondered, as he scratched his head.

After all, he did want her to see who was the boss, right? At this point, Bumblebee was pretty sure the answer was definitely. But at the same, he didn't feel satisfied at all. In fact, he felt like Optimus had been a little too harsh about the whole, "Insubordination of a direct order," scenario. He wouldn't mention it, but Optimus had busted him in the exact same situation twice, when he was but a sparkling, training to become a true Autobot. However, Prime had so generously given Bumblebee a second chance, before actually giving him a punishment. So why hadn't he done the same with Zero? Bee figured maybe it was because Prime was getting old. He was at least a few centuries old, meaning that he was approaching his deadline as a Prime. But despite his thoughts, he decided to bring it up to Optimus.

Bumblebee fast walked up to Prime, who just about to leave for the main control room. He didn't hesitate to search for his words on the channels.

"May I have a word, Prime?"

He was surprised that he had managed to come up with the full sentence in a human station at all.

With a sigh of regard, the old leader turned back around to face Bee.

"Yes, Bumblebee?" he replied.

It had taken Bee another short moment of silence to come up with his sentence, and he even had to connect different channels just to say it all.

"Prime, isn't that punishment a little extreme? I think that we should give it another chance! I realize that Zero has disobeyed direct orders, but maybe we should give her another chance. This was only her first time after all," Bumblebee explained.

Obviously, they were the best lines Bee could come up with, when using human speech to talk.

Optimus nodded with understanding, and his mechanical brows lowered, as if he were thinking hard about his right hand's advice.

"You may be right, Bumblebee, partially. But our new Autobots has to understand, if that were a real situation, Zero would be either torn apart by that monster's sword, or worse," Optimus explained, as he put a hand on his shoulder. "You must understand. There is a very good reason Ratchet and I assign this assessments and simulations, and I know that you understand that as well as I do. The reason I punish, is so that those that have displeased me, understand why they have earned the consequences of their actions. I aim to keep all of my Autobots alive, that is what everything I do leads up to, including the punishments I give."

Right away, Bumblebee knew he was beat. But Optimus wasn't finished.

"However, sense you are my loyal second in command, I will allow Zero to attempt the simulation a second time, starting the day following tomorrow. But no more second chances after this, until she has learned her lesson!" Optimus stated firmly.

Bumblebee bowed with respect. "Thank you commander," he replied, before starting away.

This time, he did feel satisfied.

Though Bumblebee couldn't help wondering, why did his attitude toward Zero change so quickly?

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><p><strong>The Decipticon base…..<strong>

Starscream sped into his leader's base in his jet form, not letting anything stop him. Megatron had to know what he had found, though he knew that the old grouch would not be happy to hear about it. Besides, sense when was the last time Megatron was happy about anything?

His jet boosters blasted Starscream though the air, as he maneuvered around the slim tunnels, using his scanners to detect objects before he even had seen them. Right as he was about to approach a door, it immediately opened for him automatically, clearly recognizing Starscream's presence. His whizzed through several more of these same automatic doors, until he came to the last, enormous main door, leading to one of Lord Megatron's many hideouts. Starscream transformed himself to his regular form, where he briefly studied the locks with his yellow optics.

"Ah, Lord Megatron, always having to be the overprotective one, don't you?" Starscream thought, as he went to work on the coded locks.

He rotated all of the outer and inner rings until they were aligned the right way, in a straight line pointed up and down, in no less than a minute. The Decipticon's emblem than glowed blue on the door, as steam shot up from the pipes along the insides of the door. The rings split in half from each other, where they rolled into the insides of the walls bordering the door. The metal door then rolled itself open, groaning mechanically as it rolled to a sudden stop. Starscream continued into the mechanical, dark room, until he approached a wiry, crude looking throne at the edge of the room. Who sat in the throne, was none other than the leader of the Decipticons himself, Megatron.

Next to him, Soundwave stood obediently, ready to defend his leader when needed. The hulking watchdog didn't care what he was ordered to do, as long as it satisfied Megatron's twisted desires. But when he could do what he liked…. Starscream didn't want to begin to think about what experiments Soudwave could be conducting in those labs of his.

"Uh…. Lord Megatron?" Starscream started uncertainly.

Megatron twitched with annoyance, before he finally lifted his rhino-like head. His red eyes glowed emotionlessly, and his teeth were gritted as if he were looking at something disgusting.

"Yes, Starscream? What do you want now?" Megatron asked harshly, his voice scratchy and ugly as usual, but deep and firm at the same time.

"Lord Megatron- I don't know if this is the best time for me to tell you this, but…."

Starscream was interrupted by a rough, mechanical cough from Megatron.

"Well? What is it? Stop stuttering already you darned fool!" He urged impatiently.

"We may have just- lost another outpost to the Autobots," Starscream finally blurted out.

Megatron's red eyes were suddenly lit with fury.

"What?!" He shouted. "How could this have possibly happened on my watch? More importantly, how could YOU, have let this happened?!"

Starscream flinched nervously at his tone of voice, but daren't show his leader that he was afraid.

"Sir, I wasn't present at the time, I assure you! But I have now read the report, and it seems that the Autbots have quite a few new recruits now…. Many that we don't even recognize." Starscream insisted.

"How?" Megatron demanded again. "There is no possible way that they could have more than one recruit at the moment, I only detected no more than one meteor in the past week!"

When Starscream opened his mouth to talk, Megatron continued to interrupt.

"Bah! No matter! However those pesky Autobots managed to invade our sensors is none of our concern. Right now, we need to focus on revenge. Not just on our captured outpost, but on Prime, for killing me was his first big mistake. And it will be his last," Megatron added evilly.

He stole a glance with Soundwave after he was finished talking.

"Soundwave! Go and prepare a raiding party for one of the main Autobot bases. Feel free to pick which ever one you want, but be discreet about it," Megatron ordered.

"Yes lord Megatron," Soundwave replied deeply with a bow of his head, before departing from the room quietly.

"And what would you like me to do, my lord?" Starscream asked eagerly. "Shall I participate in the raiding?"

Megatron nodded swiftly, swatting at him with his hand as if he were an annoying pest.

"Yes, yes, yes, go join the raiding party if you would like. Get out of here Starscream, you are now dismissed!" Megatron said aloud.

With a nod of eagerness, Starscream re-transformed into his jet form, and flew out the door once more. After he was sure everyone had departed, Megatron sat up from his throne, and activated a button on it. "It's time to check on Shockwave now…" He said with a grin.

Zero stormed down the hallway towards her quarters, not even turning around to face the hanger once. She was too angry to talk at all, or even to try to talk back, which was a big habit for her.

"This isn't fair," she thought to herself, "I didn't even deserve this punishment, and if anyone deserves a punishment, it's Prime himself."

As she reached the quarters area, she passed by Ironhide and Jazz, who were once again waiting for her on the side of the wall. Ironhide stuck out his leg at the last second, slightly making Zero trip.

"Better watch yourself their shorty, you might bump that hothead of yours on accident," Jazz joked with a smirk.

Zero immediately stopped in her tracks at the sound of the insult, and turned back around to face them. "I'm not short!" She hissed at him.

"Are you sure? Because I think even Bumblebee is beating you in height right now," Ironhide added, with an equally amused expression on his face.

Zero clenched her fists angrily, but continued walking back towards her quarters, trying her best to ignore their insults.

"Hothead!" Jazz blurted out behind her, sending laughter from him and Ironhide afterwards.

Bumblebee had just arrived on the scene meanwhile, clearly not impressed with them harassing other team members.

"That was a pretty good one, right Bee?" Jazz asked, hitting him on the shoulder playfully.

Bumblebee stole a glance, but started fast walking to catch up with Zero.

"Awe, come on Bee! We were just having a little fun!" Jazz protested.

Zero immediately heard his footsteps and assumed that it was Ironhide or Jazz. When Bee had almost reached her, Zero suddenly turned around and readied her fists.

"I said leave me- oh wait, it's you." She lowered her fists once again, but her expression hadn't gotten any nicer than before.

"What do you want this time Yellow stripes?" She asked firmly.

Bumblebee couldn't help find it amusing that she was really prepared to punch Ironhide.

"You do realize that with moves like that you don't stand a chance against the big guy?" he remarked.

He had expected a sharp rebuke or insult from her, but instead, Zero just sighed in frustration and lowered her fists.

"I know," Zero reluctantly admitted. "But I have to say, I just hate Ironhide."

She clenched her fists again, as she watched Ironhide and Jazz depart into their quarters, before turning her attention back to Bumblebee.

"So what did you want to say to me? I don't suppose I will be getting a second chance from Prime any time soon?" Zero said sarcastically, suddenly back to her regular, hostile personality.

For just those few moments, Bee had thought he had heard her speak without hostility to him. But he shook it off, knowing that day wouldn't come overnight.

"Actually, yes. Prime decided to let you try it a second time," Bumblebee said, not making eye contact with her, before he walked off towards his quarters.

He didn't want to know what her reaction would be, and even if he had told her that he had convinced Optimus, it was unlikely that Zero would even care, let alone, believe him. But Bumblebee could care less.

After all, it's not as if he liked her, right?

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><p><strong>Oooo! Looks like Bumblebee is starting to get the idea! ;D Hope you enjoyed the chapter! <span>PLEASE, be sure to leave a review and share your thoughts.<span>**

**Chapter 5: Bumblebee decides to make moves toward friendship with Zero. Meanwhile, The Depicticons start their attack on an Autobot base, much to the dismay of the team, but the Autobots are in for a surprise when they do find out the Decipticon's motives behind the attack, leading them into a even more mysterious plot... **


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